Leon Livaić is the new champion of Croatia. The 23-year-old GM from Zagreb took the first national title in his career and picked 16 rating points.
The Croatian Championship, a 12-player round-robin with classical time control, took place in the premises of the Zagreb Chess Federation from December 5-13. The winner of the 2022 championship, Ivan Saric, opted not to defend his title due to a busy schedule.
The event was a close race of four 2500+ grandmasters up to Round 8, in which Leon Livaić grabbed the sole lead and never looked back. Coming to the final round a full point ahead of Sasha Martinovic and Marin Bosiocic, he drew with Zdenko Kozul from the position of strength and secured the title with an excellent score of 8.5/11. The champion became the only unbeaten participant in the event.
Marin Bosiocic gradually outplayed Lovro Novosel in an equal minor-piece endgame and gained silver as Sasha Martinovic made a quick draw with Nenad Fercec and settled for bronze.
Final standings:
| 1 | GM | Livaić, Leon | 2543 | 8½ |
| 2 | GM | Bosiočić, Marin | 2545 | 8 |
| 3 | GM | Martinović, Saša | 2556 | 7½ |
| 4 | GM | Kožul, Zdenko | 2532 | 7 |
| 5 | GM | Ferčec, Nenad | 2401 | 5½ |
| 6 | IM | Bukal, Vladimir | 2337 | 5½ |
| 7 | GM | Palac, Mladen | 2478 | 5 |
| 8 | IM | Tica, Sven | 2448 | 4½ |
| 9 | FM | Novosel, Lovro | 2370 | 4½ |
| 10 | GM | Rogić, Davor | 2431 | 4 |
| 11 | GM | Kovačević, Blažimir | 2400 | 3 |
| 12 | IM | Režan, Saša | 2406 | 3 |
Source : FIDE
